thoughts – I Drew Blood

The Brighton four piece thoughts shared their melodic new single with us this weekend; it’s out tomorrow, July the 20th, however we were fortunate enough to get a sneak peak beforehand. ‘I Drew Blood’ is a shift away from their previous singles ‘Tuck’ and ‘Animal’ opting for a calm, soothing avenue rather than the upbeat, glam pop of the past. This new route is interesting, it offers a lot more vocally speaking than the past giving frontman, Joseph room to shine and he steps up the role well, filling it with a fantastic set of lungs as his voice soars over haze laden guitars. However, as much as his vocals shine, you can’t help but want a little bit more from the single, it is a short step away from being great, currently it lays within the pool of lukewarm, it’s okay, but not amazing by any stretch. Structurally speaking and in terms of guitar tones and what you expect from the song, it all comes across a little cliched at times, a little too safe – it feels as if this would make a fantastic blueprint if a little bit more dare and initiative went into the final product; a touch of experimentation. In a similar fashion to Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’, you have the melodic intro, the slow and gradual build up with additional layers and textures coming into the fray before the apocalyptic ending, and the thing is, all this is great, however it has been repeated over and over again, it’s just lacking the gusto that can drive it through to being fantastic. Stick by this band though, this may not be their strongest effort but they have proven previously that they can step up to the mark, especially Brighton’s exceptionally high mark – the ball’s in their court right now.